How to Get the Most Out of Auto Insurance Quotes

Auto insurance is one of those ‘necessary-evil’ expenditures that I’m always trying to get a lower price on. In an hour’s worth of time, you can get quotes from a number of auto insurance companies to see which may offer you the lowest auto insurance quote. Shopping around for auto insurance is simply a return on time investment. But before you spend the time doing so, it’s usually best to know how to get the most out of the auto insurance quotes you will be getting.

What Auto Insurance Provider has the Cheapest Policy?

I wish I had a silver bullet for you on this one. I don’t. The lowest cost auto insurance policy depends on so many different factors, that you simply need to call around and do your research. The best I can do is help you prepare for those calls or online quotes and know what to ask for when doing them.

How to Prepare Before Getting Auto Insurance Quotes

Any time you are getting a true auto insurance quote versus simply filling out a lead marketing form submission, you’re going to need the following and why it might result in a lower cost for you:

The Car: the year, make, model, and any safety features. Older vehicles with more safety features should result in lower costs.

Your Driving Record: What accidents/tickets have you had in the last 3 and 5 years? Some auto insurance providers look at your 3 year record, others look at your 5 year record.

The Mileage: How many miles do you drive per year? The fewer the better at most insurers. Many will give you a discount for lower miles driven.

Credit Score: More and more insurers are offering auto insurance discounts for good credit scores.

How Much Coverage you want: Each state has different auto insurance coverage minimums. Know what yours are and how much coverage you want before getting your quotes, so that you can compare apples to apples.

Your Deductible: The higher your deductible, the lower your insurance premium. Your deductible is the amount you must pay when filing an insurance claim for repair/replacement. You’ll need to figure out what deductible amount you are comfortable with based on the age/make of your vehicle and your financial situation.

What Auto Insurance Companies Should you Get Quotes from?

There are so many options out there. I usually check with at least 3-5 companies before choosing. Here’s where you can start:

Check with whatever company you have home, life, and/or health insurance with. Multiple policy discounts are usually one of the biggest discounts in the industry.

Check with your employer. Some employer’s have negotiated lower rates for employees. Yours may be one.

Check with auto insurance companies that offer unique plans that cater to your driving or life situation. More on this point next.

Auto Insurance Discounts for your Situation:

A lot of companies will offer discounts for multiple policies, good driving records, multiple car discounts. But it really does vary by company as to which discounts they offer. Here are some examples of some situational offerings by various insurers:

ESurance: ESurance offers auto dicounts for good drivers, students under the age of 25 who maintain a 3.0 GPA and above, and customers who pay their insurance in full vs. month-to-month.

GEICO: Renewal discounts up to 30%, military discounts of 15%, anti-theft systems and full frontal airbags discounts.

We use Geico and are currently paying $657.42 for 6 months for full coverage on our 2007 Prius and liability only on my 2005 Aveo. That includes free towing for both cars.

I’ve never had an accident and my husband hasn’t had any in the last 6 years. We get discounts for our excellent credit rating, his alarm system, having homeowner’s insurance through Geico as well ($760 a year and our policy is with ASI), and for having air bags. We also each took an online defensive driving class last year to get the discount for that too.

I look into our rates every 6 months unless they stay the same (which hardly ever happens). We have limited options since companies like Allstate don’t offer home insurance in our area and State Farm only offers it at outrageous prices. It’s worth the big discount (10%-15% depending on the company) to keep our car and home insurance with the same company.

Be careful with Geico’s quotes; they don’t automatically include uninsured motorist coverage and rely on a lot of folks seeing the relatively lower premium (because of the missing uninsured motorist coverage) and not really sifting through the details of the policy.

Another thing I have found useful is to do online searches to find a good price but to then call an agent at the 1-2 companies you have narrowed your choices down too. You can get a better price this way because agents have some latitude on the price. Also see the customer service you receive because it is a good indication of the service you will receive if you ever need to make a claim.

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This site provides general info & entertainment & should not be considered financial advice. Consult an independent financial advisor for your specific situation. Per FTC guidelines, this site may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising & affiliate partnerships.

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